“”They live in sumptuous quarters, with beautiful flowers in large vases, and have a butler (….) It is like a wish dream of two homosexuals living together.” (Fredric Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent)

Continuing on the note of homo-erotic allusions, we now have pretty definite proof that Batman is gay. This and much else is covered inFredric Wertham‘s modern modern moralist classic Seduction of the Innocent, where he lashed out against what he perceived as the unruly influence comic books had upon youth. Besides the obvious sodomy of Batman, he criticized hidden sexual themes, such as images of female nudity concealed in drawings of muscles and tree bark. In fact, these images were often so devious and well hidden that Wertham was the only one who saw them. Swedish readers may recognize the similarity to our own world-leading authority in the field of egyptology, Ted Borg.

4 responses to “All those leather outfits, and you didn’t suspect ANYTHING?”

I never did buy into any of the suppossed
” subliminal messages ” that pyschologist seem to hunt and search for in comics during any era. I am especially offended by the fact that we go back to the fifties, an era when no one spoke of homosexuality, and maybe more to the point no one wanted to know.

Myself, I especially do not want to know of some idiot with a degree ( or not ) labeling what should be looked at as an innocent depiction of a Father ( or Stepfather ) if you will with a young ward sharing a bed, for what could have been a pretty simple reason.

Batman is Gay?
I say Nay!!

I say the person who had to find ( or still looks to tag ) Superheros as gay has a problem, yesterday or even today!

Opinions like yours always make me a little curious. Does the precise nature of the clientele Batman chooses to bang affect his potential as a character? Why would a gay Batman be any less of a childhood hero? I can hardly think of a less relevant fact than what exactly went on between the sheets in the Batcave.

Relevant is a little too strong a word… I found what in my eyes looked like possible homosexual allusions somwhat amusing, that’s about it. I don’t buy into any of Wertham’s moral panic, but I still found the picture more than a little ambiguous – and, as we all know – sexual ambiguity is one of the oldest jokes in the book. It has an amazing ability to make stereotypical macho men uncomfortable.

I personally don’t think Batman is endorsing paedophilia… that wouldn’t have been the least bit amusing. I’ve always thought of Robin as a boy in at least his late teens, and consequently to have reached age of consent… he certainly looks that way in the DC Comics Golden Age and New Age incarnations.
I don’t find anything offensive or immoral about a sexual relationship between two consenting adult males, and certainly nothing that would make Batman any less of a hero.